Hi there, I make adjustable bangles out of silver using wax with the red modelling wax. However, on the rare occasion, they snap or, at the middle point where they receive the most tension, they get a little crack in them. I understand this is because of an air bubble in the wax… but is there any way to avoid this? If i make a mould, does this ensure they’ll be stronger? Any advice is appreciated!
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I suspect that they break in the middle because, each time that they go on or off a wrist, they flex at the same spot. Over time they harden at this spot and break. I have made thousands of forged and fabricated cuff bracelets over the years. I try to size them to fit the wrist that they are going on so that the bracelet doesn’t have to be flexed to be worn. I am not sure how you can size this design of bracelet. Good luck…Rob
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I doubt that the problem you’re encountering has anything to do with bubbles in your wax, but if it is, inspecting them before casting and filling in the bubbles should help. But I suspect that the fact that these are cast rather than fabricated is why they’re cracking. The crystallization in castings is coarser than in wire or sheet, and bending them creates fissures along the grain boundaries, that widen with repeated flexing into cracks. Heat treating can mitigate this to some extent, but the real solution would be to use thick wire or rod for everything but the ends, and to solder those on. You can forge the wire to create those irregularities if desired.
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I can’t offer anything at all. Like Rob, I have made a thousand or more cuff bracelets. And like Rob I build them in sizes so each customer gets a good fit.
Don Meixner
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Hi there. I agree with the other replies about making cuffs to fit the individual as being best for the longevity of the cuff. I also make a lot of cuff bracelets and they are always sized to the individual. No matter what, if a cuff has an inside circumference of 7” for example, a person with smaller wrist is going to continually crank it down to fit every time they put it on, and it will always crack and break at some point. Imo, rings or cuffs should neverbe offered up as adjustable jewelry if you want it to be lasting.
What might be helpful for you is to offer them in various sizes (5.5, 6, 6.25, 6.5” etc) and teach your customer how to size their wrist and put it on too without adjusting for their respective purchase. That will save you a lot of future headache and cost. Nothing sucks more than receiving back a cuff for repair that you sold at a size 7” only to find out later the customer was squeezing it for a 6” wrist. Hope this all helps. Love the design!
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Thanks everyone! I do make them available in small, medium, large… usually this crack appears fresh out of casting, thank goodness and has only just happened to a client of mine after she bought it, much to my horror. @awerby’s suggestion of making them fabricated from wire is probably a good option though it means i’d have to raise my prices quite a bit!
Looks like a lot of folks in this thread make cuff bracelets. With so many expert bracelet makers here, it might be a good moment to discuss how you measure a wrist for a cuff bracelet?
I was taught to take a string and measure the circumference of the wrist back a little, just past that pointy wrist bone (I don’t know what it’s called?). Lay the string on a ruler, then subtract a some for the thickness of the wrist. For most everyone the amount to subtract is 1". But for someone with really thin wrists, it might be less. For thicker wrists it might be a little more. So if the wrist circumference is 6.5", the bracelet would be 5.5". Again, that’s how I was taught.
How do you all measure a wrist for perfect fit cuff bracelet? I’m sure you folks have great suggestions to add.
Also, I think everyone is in agreement that if you bend a cuff bracelet back and forth using the metal like a hinge to make it fit, eventually it’s going to break. Cast metal tends to be brittle and breaks faster when bending back and forth.
Thanks for all of the suggestions!!
Jeff
Jeff…What you describe is pretty much the way that our Dad taught us and we have done collectively for over 80 years. We go in .25" increments from a 5.0" to 6.5" and then more of less depending on the size of the wrist. A smaller gap for less than 5" and a larger gap for more than 6.5". We stamp the size inside any bracelet with enough room to be stamped without damaging the bracelet. This data all goes into a customer record along with a description of the piece or a serial number. That way, when someone calls and asks if I remember the bracelet that I sold them 25 years ago and can’t I make another just a little bigger because somehow their wrist got bigger, I have a chance of getting it right. Some people like to wear their bracelets tight and some loose, so you have to adjust for these preferences. Also, we try to sell them more than one. Some of our customers wear as many as 10 bracelets at a time. We really sell drugs. Since our wrists are tapered, you need to take that into account. Finally, a thicker bracelet might need to be made a little longer than a thinner one to fit the same size wrist for same reason that you take the thickness of the stock onto account when sizing a ring. There is a lot going on here, but the goal is to fit a bracelet that not only feels nice, isn’t too tight or loose but is also safe to wear. Cuff bracelets take on a shape unique to the wearer, not as a result of our initial shaping, but as a result of there conscious or more likely unconscious squeezing of their bracelets over a long period of time. My bracelets are initially formed either on a mandrel or with a hydraulic press bracelet former and then finished over a 1" piece of aluminum rod with a sheath of rubber hose. Then it is back to the mandrel for final shaping. Don may do this differently. Thanks for starting this conversation. It is important if you make cuff bracelets…Rob
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Cast metals are weaker than fabricated/ milled metals.
When broken it is easy to see that cast silver has a granular profile. Milled metal with hand fabrication is much more durable.
Also flexible cuffs are eventually prone to fatigue and breakage. This is why I don’t make them.
I would recommend that you up your skill levels and learn to make bracelets that are slip on and/or hinged with a clasp. There is nothing more satisfying than hearing the "snick"when a clasp you make engages. I have always wished that my portfolio could come with that sound effect. The Complete Metalsmith by Tim McCreight has an entire section on clasps and findings. And best of all for those of us who failed to pay attention in school,(that would be me), there a great drawings of how to make them.
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Super helpful! I have standard sizes of small medium large (though the measurements I use are all in cm) but will make a note of this.
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Re- Raising prices…There is no sin in making a profit. The more you charge the more respect you will get.
In our studio we make all of our own wire and sheet.
When ever we take our scrap and filings to the refiner we always ask for 24kt gold and .999 silver in return rather than money. The down side to receiving money for your scrap is that it will be declared as income on your taxes. Why pay more taxes on metals that you already have paid taxes on? We alloy,(using reliable alloys from our refiner), our metals that we need for any given project.
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I form my bracelets around a 1" post set in my bench. After I have turned the cuff I true it up on an oval mandrel. Typically the bracelet is ever so slightly egg shaped. I make sure my customer knows to put the slightly rounder side on the outside of the wrist. (Where the Ulnar Prominence is). I got a chuckle out of Rob’s description of bracelets magically taking on a shape over time. I have noticed this too.
Ashleigh, l have only recently tried to cast cuffs. I’ll post my discoveries and ask you for some advice.
Don Meixner
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I have the same problem… I aquired over 20lbs of scrap, far more than I could use, when sterling scrap sold for $2.50 to $4.00 per oz…that’s back in the late 1980’s and early '90’s… also several ounces of gold at $350… it’s been so long ago that I don’t have the reciepts. I have no idea what my tax basis is… having them refined into investment grade fine metal bullion adds another 20% cost, on top of refining fees. But so what…precious metals will continue to appreciate in value… they can be sold for cash to private buyers and local dealers, one bar at a time, or hoarded for that matter. Hoarding it isn’t tax evasion… selling to the refiner for cash and not declaring it is tax evasion.
I feel that casting metal is more brittle than direct constructing. I only cast for shapes that don’t receive any movement.
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